States to receive $700m to improve governance, public finance management

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said the federal government will release $700million to states to improve governance and public finance management.

Buhari explained that this was one of the several measures to enthrone transparency and accountability in the public sector in order to deepen the fight against corruption.

The president who was represented by Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, disclosed this at the annual conference of Auditors-General of Nigeria, with the theme: “Nigeria’s drive towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The strategic roles of Auditors-General”, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Buhari said: “At the state level, several measures have been introduced to achieve certain minimum improvements in governance and public financial management. These include the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability program (SFTAS), in which $700million will be made available as grants to states.

“Similarly, $50million in technical assistance will be made available to key agencies with the states to build capacity.

“At the inception of this administration, three cardinal goals were set: security, fight against corruption and revamping of the economy. Three and a half years down the line, I am pleased to report that tremendous achievements have been recorded in all three areas.

“I must state however, that the desired level in the fight against corruption is yet to be attained.”

He explained that his administration introduced several reform initiatives in the financial management sector to help stem the tide of corruption and waste.

These public finance reforms, the president explained, were targeted at reducing waste and driving up revenue.

“These initiatives include the Treasury Single Account (TSA) which has tremendously reduced leakages in the system. Similarly, it has introduced the Presidential Initiative of Continuous Audit (PICA). PICA has the mandate to validate controls, assess risks, prone personnel costs, ensure compliance with public financial management reforms, detect errors and make recommendations to management for necessary actions.

“Recently, I approved several sweeping reforms in the public finance sector so as to further reduce and drive up revenue. These reforms include: performance monitoring that will set financial indicators and targets for revenue generating government-owned enterprises.

“New measures for expenditure controls, budgeting and financial reporting requirements, as well as financial oversight have also been set.

“Henceforth, the accounts of government-owned enterprises shall be audited within four months after the end of each financial year.

“The role of Auditors-General to the success of these new reforms can therefore not be overemphasized.

“The SDGs adopted by all United Nations member states is a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity,” the president said.

He therefore urged the Auditors-General to take their roles very seriously as it has a direct impact on our development as a nation and what we make from our limited resources. He advised them to be vigilant, independent and above politics.

The Auditor-General for the Federation, Mr. Anthony Ayine, in his welcome address, said Nigerians must work together in order to successfully implement the SDGs.

“The challenge of development and improving the well-being of the citizens of Nigeria is not for the federal government alone. The audit community therefore, has a strategic role to play.

“Through audits, Supreme Audit Institutions (SAls) have the opportunity to stimulate the government to have more policy coherence among its actions. It is the duty of the SAI community to help watch over SDGs implementation and policy integration.

“Our audits could look at specific programmes that target the poor and vulnerable groups, to assess how they work, or they could look at the whole government, to evaluate whether these issues are incorporated into a range of government policies,” he said.